Thread: The Witch of Halloween

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The Witch of Halloween

By

Jeffry Scott Hansen

10/13/2003





One October day when I was ten years old, I went for a walk in the woods that surrounded my town. The woods were thick and filled with oaks and maples, giant evergreens and some birch trees. My mother would tell me to be home before dark and to never, ever go to the other side of the woods; that I was to turn back when I came to the first clearing. Past the clearing were more woods that led to a graveyard, a very old graveyard; one that was supposed to be haunted. This day, this one day in October, I decided that since I was ten years old, that I was old enough to travel past the clearing, and see if there really was a graveyard, or was my mother just making sure that I didn’t travel too far from home.

When I walked into the woods I made sure to check my watch, it was just past five in the afternoon. Supper would be ready at six, and I would be home just in time to say grace, and my mother would not even know that I had passed the clearing at all. As I traveled closer to the clearing, the sunshine went away and the sky quickly became gray. As I walked down the winding path, a black cat jumped out of the bushes. It stopped in front of me and meowed. It sounded like a warning, as though it was telling me not to travel any further. Then it walked away from me and continued on the path, walking back and forth across the path. Now, I know better than to let a Black cat cross my path, so I began to follow it in hopes that I could pass it up and break any bad luck that should come my way because of it.

I followed the Black cat further and further down the path and then realized that I was now at the first clearing. It seemed much later than what my watch said it was. Five minutes after five, I was amazed to see, I must have been making very good time, for it usually took me fifteen minutes to get to the clearing.
The Black cat was very fast and walked ahead of me by at least seven steps. It led me into the second part of the woods. It was very hilly and the path began to wind up. The trees on the hill were very colorful and some of them had already lost their leaves. I followed the cat up, up the hill and found myself getting tired. The cat stopped and looked back at me and meowed. Then it trotted off up into the hillside and out of sight. I was very curious to see where it went to so I followed. When I reached the top of the hill, I could see what my Mother had warned me about. The top of the hill and surrounding the other side of the hill was the graveyard. Tombstones and marble crosses stuck out of the hillside, and knotty tree roots of knotty old trees were lifting some of the tombstones out of the ground. The sky was turning grayer by the minute and the wind was picking up. I looked at my watch and my heart went to my throat, for it was still only five minutes after five. My watch must have stopped when I left from home, and now it was much later than I thought. I would be late for supper and my Mother would know that I had traveled past the clearing in the woods.

Just as I went to leave, the Black cat, (yes the same black cat) jumped up onto a large tombstone that was to my right. It meowed at me as if to tell me something. As I looked at it, its eyes became glowing green, and I found myself unable to move. Then the most amazing thing happened. The cat began to talk!

“Good afternoon young man”, said the Black Cat. “You are in the graveyard of the Witch of Halloween. You are from the town at the other side of the wood, and you are late for supper. The Witch of Halloween is not one that takes kindly to trespassers and you young man are trespassing!”
Even though I was unable to move, I was able to talk and I talked to the Black Cat that was talking.
“Mr. Cat, I apologize for trespassing, and I hope that I can be free to go home, for I certainly am late for supper and my mother who warned me of this place is going to be very angry at me already, I hope the Witch of Halloween can forgive me for this.”

The black cat meowed very loudly and spoke some more.

“Mr. Cat? I am no tomcat; I am a girl cat, and I and not just any girl cat, but the QUEEN of the Cats. My name is Kerchoo, and I do not take kindly to little boys who call me Mister! Since I am the Queen of the Cats I am the one who flies with the Witch of Halloween and that is an honor that no tomcat could EVER have.”

Without even trying, my troubles had tripled. My mother would be very upset with me, Kerchoo, the queen of the cats was upset with me, and the Witch of Halloween was sure to be upset with me. When I thought that nothing else could go wrong, it did. The afternoon sun was turning into the evening dusk, and the graveyard was turning cold. The trees were swaying back and forth and the wind sounded like a banshees’ cry. Shadows cast upon the tombstones and the tree above me filled with ravens. The Queen of the cats Kerchoo looked at me with her eyes wide and said, “Here she comes, the Witch of All Hallows Eve, the rider of the Broom across the moon, She that is old and wise and all knowing. To know her true name is wisdom, for she is Queen of all Witches.

I could not move but I could feel my lips quiver. The air around me became heavier and the sky was now dark. The stars were out and an owl hooted in a tree to my left. The wind kicked up and then I heard a cackle. The Witch of Halloween had come. Kerchoo the Queen of the cats meowed with delight and jumped from the tombstone she had been sitting on. The Witch of Halloween walked in front of me and whispered something to Kerchoo. The Queen of the Cats jumped up into the witch’s arms and purred. Kerchoo looked over at me and meowed to the Witch. The witch then looked at me and said,

“You had the nerve to call my precious little Kerchoo, Mister? Don’t you know the Queen of the Cats when you see her? And how dare you chase her through the woods and try to pass her. You had no business scampering after her and you had no business in those woods. You certainly have no business here in my graveyard, a graveyard older than that silly town of yours.”

Even though I was able to speak, words would not come out of my mouth. My throat was dry and I was scared. Finally, I found the courage to speak up and when I did, I spoke very politely to the witch.

“I beg your pardon, Oh Queen of the Witches, rider of the broom across the moon, she that is wise and all knowing. I am just a silly boy from that silly town and whatever I can do to be in your favor, I will do it.”

The Witch smiled a very large grin. She whispered to Kerchoo and let her jump down to the ground. The Queen of the Cats walked around me in a circle and rubbed my legs as she did so. The Witch walked closer to me and looked me right in the eyes. As she spoke, I felt more comfortable, and I felt like I was falling asleep. I could hear her words, but I couldn’t hear them clearly. But then I realized that she was putting me under a spell, a spell that I will tell you of here. The witch backed up and reached into a pouch that she had on her side. She threw powder over my head that smelled like rose petals. She spoke slowly and in a whisper, and then looked at Kerchoo and grinned.

“You are bound by this spell, young man. You are marked by the Queen of the Witches. I have been casting spells and flying across the full moon for over three hundred years. If you want to return to your town and to your home and to your supper, you will do as I say. You are now ten years old. Today is October 13th. In twenty-one years you will do this. You will draw a picture of what you see. The two tombstones in front of you bear the names of two of my friends, one of them has been the stuff of legends, he came to this town as a teacher, and left without his head. The other one is a werewolf; he lies here, only allowed to walk the earth on the night before Halloween. When I fly across the moon, he returns to the grave. This third grave is marked Unknown. On the day you draw this picture, which will be on October 13th of your 31st year, you will tell this tale to your children. They in turn will tell this story to their friends. You must spread this tale to the four corners of the Earth, so that all shall know the charity of the Queen of Witches. I give you this chance and this mission because I have been made out to be such a mean and nasty witch. Now, you may go so that you can tell the truth about me, and let all know when October 31st comes, and at the stroke of midnight, they shall see, Wilhelmina, the Witch of Halloween and Kerchoo the Queen of Cats, Flying upon the Broom, across the moon, for if you don’t, it shall be your doom. For the grave marked unknown will become yours; and it will be forever more. You may not tell a soul of what you have seen until the day I said, for if you do, I will find you and you will drop dead. Go to your home and of this do not speak, but be sure to dress for fright and always trick or treat.”

And with that, I was released and I ran all the way home, I was late for supper but for some reason I didn’t get into trouble. Now I have kept my promise and have written this story. I have never gone back to the graveyard nor talked ill of black cats or witches. In tribute to the queen of the cats, I named my Black Cat Kerchoo and on Halloween night, I watch the skies for Wilhelmina, The Witch of Halloween.

The End




Copyright 2003 Jeffry Scott Hansen

spectre
Thank you for sharing your story!!!
The talent on this forum....>>>>>
really is vast!! We have professional
writes, artist, illustrators..web designers..
The do it your selfers....and the brave souls
who come 365 days out of the year to enjoy each
other for our great love of Halloween!!
I have Writers Block....I need to canter over
and get BAT"S and CAT"S on tract and Give back
the Magic that Countess Dawn once had......
My mind is in a tailspin ....shhhhh
I'll just sneak away!! Come back soon!!
Your work is a breath of fresh air!!
I really enjoyed it!!
Dawn the Black Widow



Mademouselle ~~ Countess''Dawn''- Von ~~ Frankenstein~~